IIT-Madras: Nurturing a range of start-up ideas, from farming to space tech

The institute has so far incubated 200 firms, of which 73 are successful enterprises that have raised Rs 1,620 cr at a cumulative valuation of Rs 6,000 cr

Back in 2012, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain were classmates at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), one of the oldest IITs in India. After a brief corporate stint, when both decided to take a plunge into entrepreneurship, they turned to their alma mater. Thanks to the initial support by the seniors, faculty members and professors, Mehta and Jain today run Ather Energy, a successful smart electric scooter company in India.      

Stellapps is another example of a successful IIT-M-incubated start-up. It has developed solutions that optimise the agricultural supply chain across milk production, milk procurement, cold chain,